Portfolio Insights:“The Haverford endowment for the fiscal year ended on June 30, 2013. We are delighted to report a year of strong absolute and relative performance, as the endowment ended the fiscal year at approximately $434 million, compared to $387 million at the start of the year. The net investment performance of the endowment for the year was 15.1%.

Setting realistic expectations for investment performance is one of our roles in overseeing the endowment, and while we’d like to report such strong returns every year, we caution that there will be future periods of declining markets or market turmo il, resulting in more modest or negative performance at times. Indeed, it is our expectation that returns to the endowment over the long-run will be appreciably lower than last year’s strong results.” (Source)

1) These are blissful times for college endowment funds. With stock market averages reaching new highs seemingly weekly and the bond market romping to impressive gains, the financial fortunes – and, in turn, the academic resources – of many universities and colleges have improved vastly in recent years.

“Endowment funds can make the difference between the good schools and very, very good schools,” said G. Richard Wynn, vice president of finance of Haverford College. “There’s only so much you can do with prices and the number of students.”

Consider, for instance, the University of Pennsylvania’s eye-popping endowment growth. (Source)

2) Haverford College is committed to sustainability through a formal policy. Two sustainability committees have worked on a range of initiatives, including the development of an environmental studies major, creation of a student sustainability officer position, and various energy and waste reducing measures. The college employs an office sustainability coordinator, and 40 percent of paper used on campus is made from postconsumer recycled fiber.

To reduce energy use, Haverford has implemented temperature setbacks and HVAC system upgrades, and has installed technologies such as energy management systems, LED lighting and other efficient lighting fixtures, lighting sensors, vending machine sensors, and steam line insulation. The college also runs an awareness campaign to encourage the campus community to reduce personal energy consumption. (Source)

3) Sep 30, 2009 – Michael Casel joined Haverford College as the first investment office member in 2007. Responsible for day-to-day oversight of the endowment, he works closely with the investment committee on asset allocation, manager due diligence, performance tracking and risk analysis.

The portfolio is currently about 40% in alternatives and the remainder in traditional stocks and bonds. Casel has made changes in reporting and due diligence, with a careful approach to liquidity management, combating the down market. “[We’re] holding off on new commitments to long-term lock-up vehicles in the near-term, we’ve made changes to our reporting to better monitor liquidity and to provide a more detailed breakdown. We’re also bringing into the analysis our future commitments and projections of what the alternatives portfolio will look like in upcoming years” he says.

Being the sole member of the investment office, Casel works closely with the investment committee and board of managers and is focused on building out the investment office. “The biggest challenge is keeping all parties involved with the endowment and the institution focused on long-term policies and investment strategies in the face of extremely volatile, uncertain and emotional markets,” says Casel. (Source)

4) Nov 12, 2014 – Haverford College plans to allocate $100 million for academic enrichment. This includes improvements on curriculum and facilities, construction of a center for visual culture, arts, and media, and renovations of Magill Library, Sharpless Hall and Roberts Hall. Next, Haverford plans to use $40 million for scholarship support. This allows for Haverford to become a more affordable option for prospective students. President Weiss then stated that $30 million would be used to “enhance the academic experience.” Haverford has already seen these dreams come to fruition with the completion of the Kim and Tritton dormitories. Haverford plans to further enhance the academic experience by improving on the Office of Academic Resources and the Center for Career and Professional Advising. Finally, President Weiss stated that $55 million would be used for the growth of the Haverford endowment. (Source)

5) The Haverford College board of managers has elected Prof. W. E. Lunt of the Department of English History, to be Professor of English | Constitutional History at that col1 lege. Professor Lunt’s appointment j will take effect next fall. The apj pointment was recommended by Prof. W. W. Comfort, head of the Department of Romance Languages and the newly elected President of Haverford. | The chair of English Constitutional History is a new one at Haverford and was established from an endowment fund. Professor Lunt has been at Cornell since 1912. He is a graduate of Bowdoin College and received his Ph.D. degree at Harvard. Before coming to Cornell, he taught at the University of Wisconsin and at Bowdoin. It was announced at the same time that Mr. J. McF. Carpenter had been appointed instructor of Romance Languages at Haverford. (Source)

About Richard C. Wilson

INC 500

FAMILY OFFICE CLUB

The Family Office Club is the #1 largest membership-based community of family office professionals. With over 1,500 registered family offices we have more billionaire family offices, centimillionaire families, and single family office members than our top two competitors combined. Our industry leading website (FamilyOffices.com), a weekly podcast on iTunes, newsletter, webinars, quarterly events, and authored the bestselling book in the industry is what drives membership.